teologia_3_2020.inddTEO, ISSN 2247-4382 84 (3), pp. 103-125,
2020
The Veneration of the Theotokos in the Christian Church. The
History and Evolution of Theotokos’ Feasts
Lucian FARCAIU
Lucian FARCAIU
“Hilarion V. Felea” Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Arad, Romania
Email:
[email protected]
Abstract The present study refers to the appearance and development
of the Royal Feasts of the Theotokos. Thus, in the Introduction I
referred to her veneration from the beginnings of Christianity
until after the 5th century, and then I analysed the history and
development of the four Feasts of the Theotokos: Nativity,
Presentation into the Temple, Annunciation and Her Dormition. At
the end I presented some conclusions of the study undertaken.
Keywords veneration, Theotokos, Church, Christianity, History,
Evolution, Feasts
I. Introduction. Theotokos’ veneration at the beginning of
Christian-
ity and after the 5th century.
The veneration of the Mother of God was expressed in the cult and
liturgical life of the Church, since her beginning, that is, since
the primary period. New Testament exegetes and liturgical
theologians unanimously accept that the Blessed Virgin Mary was
honoured by the Apostles, disciples, and
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104 STUDIES AND ARTICLES
relatives of the Saviour since her earthly life. “Her person has
always been naturally associated with that of her divine Son and
surrounded by the love and respect of those around Him”1.
Even though the Theotokos was honoured since the beginning of
Christianity, in the fi rst three centuries her veneration
manifested in discrete forms, especially in the particular
veneration of every Christian from the fi rst Christian community -
the Church of Jerusalem, around her tomb in Gethsemane. The
penetration of the Theotokos’ veneration in the public cult of the
Church and its proper development can be observed according to the
freedom granted by the Holy Emperor Constantine the Great to
Christendom2. This explains the fact that in the 4th century there
was already a cult of the Mother of God established in the Church.
This fact is proved by the laudatory speeches and homilies
addressed to the Mother of God, uttered by the great Fathers of
this age, such as St. Ambrose of Milan. He asks in a homily about
the Virgin Mary: “Who is more honourable than the Mother of
God?”3.
Theotokos’ cult existing since the beginning of the Christian life
in the Church, experienced an explosive development in the fi rst
half of the 5th century, due to Nestorius’ heresy called
dyoprosopism. He claimed that because in the being of Christ there
would be two special persons (on the one hand the Divine, and on
the other the human), the Virgin Mary gave birth only to the man
Christ and cannot be called Giver of birth to God (Θεοτοκος), but
only Giver of birth to Christ (Χριστοτοκος), or Giver of birth to
man (ανθροποτοκος). When a bishop, preaching in his Church, where
Nestorius was also present, dared to blaspheme those who claim that
Mary is also the Mother of God, all the people who listened to him
ostentatiously left the church in protest.4 This fact amply
demonstrates how old and deeply rooted in the conscience of
believers was the belief in the theotokia of the Mother of God, or
in the fact that the Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God.
1 Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General cu noiuni de Art
bisericeasc, Arhitectur i pictur cretin, ediia a II-a revizuit i
completat, Editura Institutu- lui Biblic i de Misiune al Bisericii
Ortodoxe Române, Bucureti, 1993, p. 186.
2 Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p. 187. 3 “Qui
nobilius Dei matre?”, Sf. AMBROZIE, De virginibus, II, 2, 7, in: PL
XVI, 220 B. 4 See Pr. Prof. Ioan RMUREANU, Istoria bisericeasc
universal, ediia a II-a, Bucureti,
1975, p. 249.
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105STUDIES AND ARTICLES
The Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 condemned the heresy
of Nestorius, formulating the Orthodox teaching about the Mother of
God, emphasizing the two major qualities of the Mother of God,
according to which she deserves honour or super-veneration. These
two qualities of the Mother of God are her θεοτοκια , that is the
fact that she gave birth to God in fl esh and her αιπαρτενια , that
is everlasting virginity, or her holiness.
As in the case of the other saints, from the beginning the
veneration of the Mother of God in the cult of the Church was
manifested through several forms or ways of expression. Among them,
the fi rst important one is the establishment of certain feasts or
days during the ecclesial year, dedicated to her special
remembrance and honour.
The special veneration granted to the Mother of God in the Orthodox
cult can be observed from the large number of feasts dedicated to
her celebration. While the other saints are, as a general rule,
mentioned only once a year - namely on the day of their death5 -
the Blessed Virgin is especially celebrated several times during
the Church year. There are feasts that honour not only her
Dormition or transition to the eternal, but also a few other
important moments in her life, as well as some miracles performed
by her power, after moving from this life.
From the point of view of their importance, we can divide the
feasts of the Theotokos into two categories:
- - The major feasts (especially celebrated) – four - counted among
the Great Feasts;
- - minor feasts (without special celebration). All the major
Feasts of the Theotokos are counted among the Great
Feasts, being painted on the iconostasis of the Orthodox Churches.
This is because the Blessed Virgin is also called “Lady or Queen of
Heaven”, her cult being closely linked to that of her Son, Jesus
Christ. In fact, some of them, such as the Annunciation, although
considered between the feasts of the Mother of God, actually refer
to the person of the Saviour Christ. It is the celebration of His
incarnation or conception within the human body for our
salvation.
By the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fi fth
century, the feasts celebrated by the Church highlighted the glory
of Easter and the
5 Exceptions to this rule are St. John the Baptist, as well as the
saints to whom there are listed the days of fi nding or moving
their relics entered in the calendars (synaxarion).
The Veneration of the Theotokos in the Christian Church. The
History and Evolution of Theotokos’ Feasts
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106 STUDIES AND ARTICLES
celebration of Christmas-Epiphany6. This corresponded to the
teaching of the fi rst Synods.
Returning to the mysteries of the infancy of Jesus and His mother,
the Church instituted a series of feasts that explain the Mystery
of the Incarnation. Thus, after the Synod of Ephesus, both the
teaching of the Synods and popular and patristic literature played
a providential role, namely, that of completing the celebration of
the Divinity of Christ with that of His humanity. Thus, the
liturgical year becomes the unfolding of all aspects of the
Incarnation as a whole7.
Therefore, as it generally happened with all the feasts of the
saints, the veneration of the Theotokos dates long before the
establishment of feasts dedicated to her special honour in the
Church8.
The oldest feasts of the Mother of God appear at fi rst as feasts
of the Saviour9. They are of newer origin than the actual feasts or
the Great Feasts, which refer directly and exclusively to the
person of the Saviour Christ. In fact, of these, only the
Annunciation is based on a historical event recorded in Holy
Scripture (Luke 1, 26-38). The others are based on facts from the
life of the Blessed Virgin about which the canonical gospels do not
write anything, they are preserved by tradition. Some of them are
recorded only in the non-canonical (apocryphal) gospels, such as
the Presentation to the Temple, i.e. the bringing to the temple of
the Blessed Virgin, which is narrated in the Proto-Gospel of James
(chapter 7). However, none of them appears among the Christian
feasts listed in the Apostolic Constitutions (book V, chapter 13
and book VIII, chapter 33). None of the feasts of the Theotokos
seems to be older than the fi fth century, a century in which, as
we have seen, the cult of the Mother of God knows a special
development, following the condemnation of Nestorian heresy at the
Third Ecumenical
6 Until the fourth century, the Nativity of Christ (manifestation
of the Godhead, through the Incarnation of His Son) and Baptism
(manifestation of the Godhead, through the appearance of the Holy
Trinity) were celebrated together on January 6, as they are still
now in the Coptic and Armenian Church..
7 Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, transl.
Mriuca and Adrian Alexandrescu, Editura Σοφια, Bucureti, 2008, p.
33.
8 Testimonies about the legitimacy and antiquity of this cult, at
E. VACANDARD, “Marie”, in: Dictionaire de Théologie catholique, t.
IX, Paris, 1925, col. 2439 . u..
9 Dr. V. MITROFANOFICI, Prof. Dr. T. TARNAVSCHI and Arhiepiscop Dr.
Nectarie COTLAR- CIUC, Liturgica Bisericii Ortodoxe, Editura
Consiliului Eparhial Ort. Rom. din Buco- vina, Cernui, 1929, p.
154.
Lucian FARCAIU
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107STUDIES AND ARTICLES
Council (Ephesus 431). It is also interesting to note that in the
West, where the cult of the Mother of God will take on even greater
development over time than in the East, none of these four feasts
is known before the seventh century, the century in which
Christians from this part adopts all of Byzantium10.
II. The Great or Royal Feasts of the Theotokos. Their history and
de- velopment
The Nativity of the Theotokos
The Nativity of the Theotokos (to geneqlion thV Qeotokou, Nativitas
Beatae Marie Virginis, Rojdestvo Bogorodiî, in Romanian also called
Little St. Mary), is celebrated on September 8.
The apocryphal writing Protoevangelium of James stops for a long
time on the childhood of the Virgin, but describing the event of
her birth in just a few lines:
“And her months were fulfi lled, and in the ninth month Anna
brought forth. And she said unto the midwife: what have I brought
forth? And she said: A female. And Anna said: My soul is magnifi ed
this day, and she laid herself down. And when the days were fulfi
lled, Anna purifi ed herself and gave suck to the child and called
her name Mary”11.
Other later apocryphals come to add other, and often contradictory
details, such as the place where Theotokos was born.
According to Epiphanios the monk12, the city of Theotokos’ birth is
Nazareth, the native city of Joachim. St. John Chrysostom has the
same opinion13.
10 L. DUCHESNE, Origines du culte chrétien, ed. V, Paris, 1925, p.
286. 11 “Protoevanghelia lui Iacob”, V, 2, in: Evanghelii apocrife,
traducere, studiu introduc-
tiv, note i prezentri de Cristian Bdili, ediia a III-a revzut,
Editura Polirom, 2002, p. 37.
12 EPIFANIE MONAHUL, De vita Beata Virginis, in: PG CXX, 189. 13
Sfântul IOAN GUR DE AUR, Homilia IX De Poenitentia, in: PG XLIX,
354.
The Veneration of the Theotokos in the Christian Church. The
History and Evolution of Theotokos’ Feasts
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108 STUDIES AND ARTICLES
However, St. Cyril of Alexandria thought the city where the Mother
of Lord was born would be Bethlehem, the city of Anna, Mary’s
mother.
Other authors consider Jerusalem as the birthplace14, opinion that
seems to be confi rmed by the existence of a church dedicated to
Saint Anna, built near the Sheep Pool. The Eastern sources speak on
this Dedicatio probaticae ecclesiai Deiparae, about the mission
fulfi lled by Joachim and Anna by bringing to life the Virgin Mary,
from whom Christ the Saviour will be born, a fact which somehow
justifi es such a hypothesis. This church in Jerusalem was
destroyed twice, in 614 by the Persians and in 638 by the Arabs. It
is also interesting that in this period the date of Nativity of the
Virgin Mary was fi xed on September 8. This church, built in
Jerusalem above the house where the saints and righteous Joachim
and Anna lived according to tradition, is still preserved today,
being rebuilt on the old ruins of the Church destroyed by Persians
and Arabs. In the basement of this church we can visit the house of
the righteous Joachim and Anna.
Just like the feast of Virgin Mary’s Dormition, at its origin, the
feast of her Nativity was the annual anniversary of the church
sanctifi cation in Jerusalem, dedicated to the Holy Virgin, and
built between 430-480 on this place where, according to tradition,
it had been the house of the Holy Virgin’s parents15.
Some historians see the establishment of this feast as a reaction
of the Church against the cult of Ishtar, Isis and Astarte,
matriarchal deities worshipped by the pagans who conquered the Holy
Places in the seventh century. The celebration of these pagan
deities was held on September 8. Or, the victory of Christ over
Satan and his followers, who were the heathen, was also fulfi lled
through Mary, the Theotokos who bore Him in her womb and gave birth
to Him. This is why the feasts of the matriarchal deities of the
heathen, servants of darkness, have been replaced by Christians
with the worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave birth to
Christ the Saviour, who overcame the power of darkness, the devil
and his servants.
The feast of Virgin Mary’s Nativity also exists in the Eastern
heterodox, separated from the Orthodox Church after the Fourth
Ecumenical Synod, i.e. the Egyptian Copts (who celebrate it on May
9)16 and Syrian Jacobites.
14 Sfântul SOFRONIE, Patriarhul Ierusalimului, Anacreotntica, in:
PG LXXXVII, 3821. 15 Dr. A. BAUMSTARK, Liturgie Comparee, Editions
de Chevetogne, 1953, p. 210. 16 O. H. BURMESTER, The Egiptian or
Copthic Church. A detalied description of her litur-
gical Services and rites and ceremonies observed în the
administration of her Sacra- ments, Cairo, 1967, p. 15.
Lucian FARCAIU
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109STUDIES AND ARTICLES
Considering that they did not borrow anything from the Orthodoxy
after their separation from the Ecumenical Church, it means that
the feast was already in use in their church before this
separation. Therefore, its beginning must be placed between the
Third Ecumenical Council (431) and the Fourth Ecumenical Council
(451).
Although it appeared early, at the beginning, the Feast of Virgin
Mary’s Nativity did not have a universal character, being
celebrated especially in Palestine and particularly in Jerusalem.
That is why, even in the ninth century, it was not yet offi cially
or canonically recognized throughout the Christian Church.
Regarding the service of this Feast and its hymnological
compositions from the fi fth century, St. Roman the Melodist was
inspired by the apocryphal stories that told Mary’s childhood, and
he composed the Matins Kontakion and Oikos of this Feast.
The service of Matins also has two Canons in its structure, whose
authors are John the Monk, that is, probably St. John of Damascus
(† 749) and St. Andrew of Crete († 740)17. To honour this feast,
St. Andrew of Crete also wrote four sermons18. Therefore, these
texts date from the iconoclastic period, when the honour of the
Mother of God was contested. Their composition as a praise to
Theotokos thus had an apologetic character, defending her worship
from those who challenged it.
In the West this feast of Virgin Mary’s Nativity was celebrated in
Gaul around year 630. But it was offi cially introduced by Pope
Sergius I (687- 701), under the infl uence of Constantinople. Its
generalization was made much later, that is in the 9th-10th
centuries.
The day after Virgin Mary’s Nativity, that is, on September 9, we
celebrate the Holy and Righteous Ancestors of God Joachim and Anna,
Theotokos’ parents, thus honouring those through whom Mother of God
came to life.
Entrance of the Theotokos
Every year on November 21, the Church celebrates the Entrance of
the Theotokos into the Temple (the Presentation) (εισοδος)
19.
17 The Greek text is in PG XCVII, 1315-1330, being translated in
Romanian in Mineiul pe Septembrie, day 8, Matins service.
18 Sfântul ANDREI CRITEANUL, In Nativitatem Beata Mariae, PG XCVII,
805-882. 19 The exact name of the Feast would be that of “Entrance
to the Temple”. However, we
commonly use the name “Entrance to the Church”, since it is the one
used by tradition
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This feast (Η eisodox Qeotokou, Praesentatio Beatae Marie Virginis
ad Templum, Vovidenia or Ovedenia, from Slavonic Vovidenie vo hram
Preasveatîi Bogorodiîi) is the day when, according to tradition,
Saints Joachim and Anna brought their three-year-old daughter Mary
to the temple, where she will remain until the age of 14 or 15, as
the one who was destined to the Lord by her parents, from the
moment of conception.
Although it does not appear anywhere mentioned in the Holy
Scripture, the event of Virgin Mary’s entrance into the Church,
penetrated the consciousness of the Church, and her Tradition.
Contemporary Russian theologians accentuate this deep, early
settlement of the holy event in the conscience of the Church. They
consider that
“... the feast was instituted by the Church’s Tradition, who used
apocryphal20 to emphasize - this time in the person of the chosen
Virgin, who dedicated herself to the service of God – «the fulfi
lment of the Creator’s dispensation» (Troparion of the Feast, tone
4)...; The Church breaks the silence of the Scriptures and shows us
the hidden paths of Grace, which prepares the vessel of the Word,
«the Mother chosen before ages» (Vespers, Stichera, tone 4),
«announced by the prophets» (Kontakion, tone 4), who enters the
holy of holies, «Hidden treasure of God’s glory» (Hebr. 9,
2-7)”21.
This event from the life of Our Lady was taken over in memory of
the Church from James’s Proto-Gospel. It is easy to understand that
the Old Testament readings and the texts of the services that
evoked the theological splendour and signifi cance of the Temple in
Jerusalem gained a special weight in this framework.
as the general name of the Feast in our Church; see in this regard
Egon Sendler, Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului,
p. 25.
20 Here, of course, the text refers to an apocryphal writing,
James’ Proto-Gospel, chap. 7 and 8, which describes in detail the
event of bringing to the Temple of the Virgin Mary. See this text
translated by Pr. Prof. Ioan G. Coman, in his book i Cuvântul Trup
S-a fcut, Editura Mitropoliei Banatului, Timioara, 1993, p. 318,
according to the German copy of A. MEYER, Die Erzahlung des Jakobus
(von der Geburt der hoch- heiliger Gottesmutter Maria), in:
Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, pp. 86-93
21 Leonid USPENSKY and Vladimir LOSSKY, Cluziri în lumea icoanei,
transl. Anca Popescu, Editura Σοφια, Bucureti, 2003, p. 166
Lucian FARCAIU
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111STUDIES AND ARTICLES
This feast is one of the newest of the Virgin Mary, dating from the
sixth century, the origin of this holiday being the holy city,
Jerusalem. Thus, we know that on November 20, 543, the church that
Emperor Justinian built in Jerusalem, near the ruins of the Holy
Temple, was consecrated, being dedicated to the Holy Virgin, and
called the Church of St. Mary the “New” (η νεα)22. The faithful
people and the clergy named this church dedicated to the Theotokos’
Nativity “the New Church”, in order to distinguish it from the
ancient place of Mary’s Birth, near the Sheep Pool. Here is how the
church building is described:
“Huge polychrome columns supported the interior galleries of the
nave; others framed the atrium whose monumental entrance stirred
the admiration of the pilgrims. In front there were two buildings
facing each other, one for the pilgrims, the other for the
poor”23.
A witness from that time, Gregory of Tours, speaks of Holy Virgin
relics which performed great miracles in that place24.
According to Tradition, the day after sanctifi cation, that is to
say, on November 21, the feast of this Church began to be
celebrated, the feast being dedicated to the Virgin Mary’s
Presentation to the Holy Temple25.
This feast was widespread throughout the East before the 7th
century26. There is nothing left of this New Church today. Shaken
by the earthquakes of the eighth century, its ruins were used by
Muslims. In the 12th century, the Crusaders erected a hospital on
this site, and in the 19th century, the Jewish inhabitants of the
neighbourhood built a large synagogue on this place.
22 “In the heart of Jerusalem, a splendid basilica, erected by
Justinian, on one of the high- est points of the city, dominated
the whole city below and the deserted esplanade of the Jewish
temple, defying the arid expanse of Zion” (Egon SENDLER, Icoanele
bizan- tine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 25).
23 Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 25. 24
Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 25. 25 Pr.
Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p. 192. 26 About this see
at B. CAPELLE, “Les fetes mariales”, in: L’Eglise en priere.
Introduction
a la Liturgie, red. par A. G. MARTIMORT, Tournai, 1961, p. 762,
quoted by Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p.
192.
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Towards the end of the 8th century, Saint Andrew of Crete
participates at the celebration of this feast in Jerusalem27. In
the same century, Saints Germanus I (†733)28 and Tarasius (†806)29,
Patriarchs of Constantinople, gave speeches of praise to this
Feast. It spread in the East only after the end of the iconoclastic
crisis, when the Virgin Mary’s honour experienced a new stage of
its development.
Although this feast dates from the eighth century, it is not offi
cially mentioned in the calendar until 1166.
In the West, the feast was fi rst introduced by Pope Gregory IX,
apparently under the infl uence of the Greek monasteries from
Italy, fi rst in England (11th century), then in France, at
Avignon, in 137130. The generalization of this feast throughout the
West is due to Pope Sixt IV, in 1472. It was then suppressed by
Pope Pius V, and then reintroduced by Pope Sixt V in 158531.
In the West, however, the feast never had the importance it has in
the liturgical life of the Eastern Church, where it is part of the
preparation for the Nativity of Christ the Saviour.
27 See Vladimir LOSSKY, “Intrarea în Biseric” (in Russian), in:
Jurnal Moskovskoi Pa- triarhii, vol 11, 1973, pp. 74-75, quoted by
Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p. 192; see also Egon
SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 166
28 GHERMAN AL CONSTANTINOPOLULUI, In Praesentationem SS.
Deiparae,in: PG XCVIII, 291-320.
29 TARASIE AL CONSTANTINOPOLULUI, In SS. Deiparae Presentationem,
in: PG XCVIII, 1481-1500.
30 At the proposal made to Pope Gregory XI by Chancellor Philip de
Mezieres, former papal ambassador to the island of Cyprus; see
about it Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p.
192.
31 Bibliography on the history and evolution of this feast: Dom
Pius PARSCH, Le guide dans l’annee liturgique, trad. de l’allemand
par l’abbe Marcel Gauthier, t. V, Par- is, 1936, pp. 402-408; H.
KELLNER, Heortolgie oder die geschichtliche Entwicklung des
Kirchenjahres und der Heiligenfeste von den altesten Zeiten bis zur
Gegenwart, 3 Aufl ., Freiburg im Breisgau, 1911, p. 156; H.
LECLERQ, “Fete de la Presentation de Marie”, in: Dictionaire d
Archeologie Chretiene et de la Liturgie, t. XIV, col. 1729-1731;
Prot. Silvestru BLNESCU, “Srbtoarea Intrrii în Biseric a Preasfi
ntei Nsctoare de Dumnezeu”, in: Biserica Ortodox Român, II (1875)
1, pp. 67-72; Mary KISHPAUSCH, The Feast of the Presentation of the
Mary in the Temple. An his- torical and literary Study, Diss
Washington, Cath. University, 1941; S. VAILHE, “La fete de la
Presentation de Marie au temple, in: Echos d’Orient, Paris, vol V
(1902), p. 221 .u.; Alexander SCHMEMANN, Introducere în Teologia
Liturgic, Editura Σοφια, Bucureti, 2002.
Lucian FARCAIU
The Annunciation
The day of March 25 of each year is dedicated to the Feast of
Annunciation of the Saviour, this of course in relation to the
Feast of Christ’s Nativity, from December 25, so nine months after
the event of Annunciation.
The Annunciation (‘Ο Εαγγελισμς, ‘Ημρα ‘Ασποσμα, Ziua salutrii,
Xαριτισμς, Anuntiatio Beatae Mariae Virginis, Blagovetenia) is the
feast of the day when St. Archangel Gabriel announced to the
Blessed Virgin that she would give birth to the Messiah (Luke 1:
26-38), when the Holy Baby was conceived in the womb of the Holy
Virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why in the West
this feast was called the Feast of Lord’s Conception (Festum
Conceptionis Cristi). It was settled nine months before the birth
of the Lord, that is, on March 25.
We do not know precisely when the Church began to celebrate the
good news of Mary or, as the feast of the Feast says, the day that
is “the beginning of our salvation, the revelation of the eternal
mystery”. It is certain that the Feast of Annunciation was
celebrated even before the Synod of Ephesus (431) which proclaimed
the Blessed Virgin as Mother of God – Theotokos.
The literary sources of this feast, that is, the canonical gospels,
were long known, as well as their poetic interpretations of the
apocryphal gospels (The Gospel of Pseudo-Jacob and The Gospel of
Pseudo-Matthew), written at the end of the third century. These
writings nourished the believers and enriched the liturgical life
of the Church, which took over their information, transposing them
into the liturgical texts of these feasts.
If, until the Synod of Ephesus, the feasts celebrated by the Church
brought to light the Mystery of Easter and the Feast of Christmas,
during the Feast of the Epiphany32, what corresponded to the
teaching of the fi rst two Ecumenical Councils that dogmatized on
the Deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit, after 431, returning to
the mysteries of Jesus’ childhood and His Mother, the Church
instituted a series of feasts that explain the mystery of
Incarnation. After the Synod of Ephesus, both the teaching of the
Synods, as well as the popular and patristic literature played a
providential role,
32 Until the 4th century the Birth of Christ (as manifestation of
God the Father through the Incarnation of His Son) and Baptism
(manifestation of God through the manifes- tation of the Holy
Trinity) were celebrated together on January 6, usually kept to
this day by Copts and Armenians.
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114 STUDIES AND ARTICLES
namely to complete the feast of Christ’s divinity with that of His
humanity. Thus, the liturgical year develops, as a whole, the
course of all aspects of Incarnation, emphasizing both the Divinity
of the Son and His humanity. Within these aspects related to the
divine-human nature of the Saviour, the teaching about the Mother
of God has a fundamental role, which also contributed to the
development of the Feasts dedicated to her.
The feast of Annunciation is thus the earliest of the Virgin Mary’s
feasts, confi rmed in the documents. It is known that, as early as
the fourth or fi fth century, a church was built in Nazareth, on
the place where there was the house of Theothokos when she received
the news from the angel that she would give birth to the divine
Child33. In honour of this feast, the great preachers of the fi fth
century left us famous panegyrics as following: Proclus, Archbishop
of Constantinople (†446)34, Basil bishop of Seleucia35 and Peter
Chrysologus, bishop of Ravenna36.
Since the 5th century, the Annunciation was celebrated in the East
and the West on different dates. Thus, some celebrated it on the
eve of Epiphany, on January 5th. Another tradition, a historical
one, respecting the months in which Mary carried her baby to her
breast, linked the idea of the Annunciation to Epiphany (January
6), and thus set the date of the feast on April 7. Today the
Armenian Church is celebrating the Feast of Annunciation on this
date.
Christians in the West, Spain, Gaul and Milan celebrated the Feast
of Annunciation on December 18, which is kept until today in the
Galician and Mozarabic rites, for the feast of the Virgin Mary,
under the name of Genetricis Dei dies. The Christians of the East
also chose this solution. In this sense, in the Mozarabic calendar,
the Annunciation is celebrated during Advent, that is, during the
Christmas fasting; in the Syrian calendar, the feasts are worshiped
on two Sundays before Christmas, and Nestorians dedicated even four
Sundays before the Feast, these Sundays being also called today the
Annunciation Sundays37.
33 About this church see A. LEGENDRE, “Nazareth”, in: Dictionnaire
de la Bible, t. IV, part. 2, Paris, 1928, col. 1527 .u.
34 PROCLU AL CONSTANTINOPOLULUI, Oratio de laudibus S. Mariae, in:
PG LXV, 679 .u. 35 VASILE AL SELEUCIEI, Oratio XXXIX, In
santissimae Deiparae Annuntiationem, in: PG
LXXXV, 425 .u. 36 PETRU CHRYSOLOGUL, arhiepiscopul Ravenei, in: PL
LIV, 508 .u., quoted by Pr. Prof.
Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p. 191. 37 Egon SENDLER,
Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 33.
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One of the oldest traditions dating from the third century
considers the Annunciation, Crucifi xion and the Making of the
world as the three united elements in the history of the human
salvation, the feast being celebrated on March 25th38.
Taking the Feast of Nativity as starting point, that is to say
observing the months when the Mother of Lord carried Christ in her
womb, we reach the date of the Feast on the 25th of March. This is
the date fi nally adopted as the date of the Feast, by both
Christians in Byzantium and those in the West. A fi rst testimony
on the feast of the Annunciation on March 25 is found in the homily
of Bishop Abraham of Ephesus, in the sixth century, a homily
uttered with certainty on March 2539.
The reason for these differences with regard to the date of
Annunciation must be found in the theological speculations of the
fourth century, which were not based on the same arguments
regarding the calculation of the feast date, which gave rise to
these multitudes of traditions40.
In Rome, the Feast was introduced by Pope Leo II, of Sicilian
origin and of Greek culture (681-683). At the beginning it was a
local feast named: The Feast of Nativity Expectation (Faestum
Expectationis Partus Beatae Mariae Virginis). The variation on the
date of Annunciation celebration lasted in the West until the 11th
century, when the day of March 25th was widespread throughout the
Western world41.
According to some Western liturgists, the feast of Annunciation is
mentioned in Rome for the fi rst time in liber pontifi calis of
pope Serge (687-702). Originally from the East, he was the one who
established the date March 25 and also a procession from St.
Peter’s Basilica to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a
privileged place to honour the Virgin Mary before the dogma was
promulgated by the Synod of Ephesus (431)42.
In the East, however, March 25 probably became widespread as soon
as the Nativity of our Lord began to be celebrated everywhere on
December 25, that is, from the fi rst half of the 5th century
onwards. The liturgical diffi culties were solved by the Quinisext
Council (in Trullo, 692), which
38 Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 33. 39
Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 34. 40
Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 34. 41
Details at F. CABROL, “Fête de l’Assomtion”, in: Dictionaire
d’Arheologie Chretienne
et de la Liturgie, t. I, 1903, col. 2241 .u. and V. BUTKUS, Festum
Anuntiationis Beatae Mariae Virginis, Roma, 1961, pp. 10-86.
42 Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p.
34.
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authorized the celebration of the Annunciation during the Great
Lent, even if this feast coincides with the Great Friday or Easter
Sunday. Since then, this feast is celebrated on March 25 in both
the West and the Byzantine East43.
Only in Armenia the Annunciation is celebrated until today in
relation to the old date of the feast of Lord’s Nativity (January
6), that is, April 744.
The Feast of Dormition
On August 15 we celebrate the feast of Dormition. Dormition (‘Η
Κομησις τς Θετοkον, Uspenia) or Falling Asleep is the feast that
celebrates the dormition of Holy Virgin. Following a pious old
tradition, fi rst known in the West and then later in the East,
three days after she fell asleep, the Blessed Virgin would have
been translated with her body to Heaven, like her Godly Son45. That
is why, in the West, in the newer times this feast was named
Assumptio Beatae Mariae Virginis, that is Translation to Heaven of
Virgin Mary46. The Western tradition identifi es the two moments,
by analogy with the Ascension of the Lord (“Ascension”).
However, in the Orthodox tradition, a certain distinction is kept
between the moment of dormition which was visible, and the moment
of “translating her body to heaven”, spent secretly and revealed
later.
In the New Testament we do not encounter any testimony of how Mary
left this world to enter into the glory of her Son.
Therefore, the only historical source of the Dormition mystery
remains the tradition of the fi rst centuries and the faith of the
fi rst Christians, which has been transmitted from generation to
generation and has found its
43 Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 34. 44
According to an old tradition, especially in the West, the day of
March 25 was also
regarded as a date of the Lord’s death, being inscribed in the old
Sacramentaries with the name of Anuntiatio Sanctae Mariae et Passio
Domnini. (See Placide BRUYLANTS, Les Oraisons du Missel Romain,
vol. I, Louvain, 1952, p. 89).
45 Tradition consacrated in Istoria Bisericii by Nichifor Callist,
II, 21, and XV, 14, in: PG CXLV, 809 .u., and CXVII, 44, apud Pr.
Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p. 190. See also the
worship books (see Mineiul pe August, day 15, Matins, Sinaxarul, p.
186-188). In 1950, the pious legend was decreed dogma in the Roman
Catholic Church.
46 See also Pr. M. PÂSLARU, “Srbtoarea «Adormirii Maicii Domnului».
Vechimea ei i locul unde se afl mormântul Sfi ntei Fecioare Maria”,
in: Glasul Bisericii, 1960 7-8, p. 585 .u.
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expression in the apocryphal accounts. The Fathers of the Church
used these stories, but from the beginning they ignored the
picturesque elements of popular piety, to deepen the theological
elements. There is a certain fact (given) that all the Holy Fathers
of the Church have accepted: the fact that the Mother of God fell
asleep in Jerusalem and was buried in the garden of
Gethsemane.
The folk tales are unanimous regarding the dormition and burial of
the Virgin, a proof that their authors have based on a strong
tradition. However, there is no tradition regarding her stay on
Mount Zion and the date of her fall asleep.
In the opinion of modern historians47, the problem of the Blessed
Mother’s moving from this world began to arise since the end of the
second century. During this period, piety to Theotokos began to
develop, as evidenced by the testimony of Saint Irenaeus and the
paintings in the catacombs. The fi rst references are from
Pseudo-Melito, a late apocryphal, who protested against Leucius
(2nd century), a Gnostic author of apostle John’s life, written in
the form of a fabulous story and without theological value. This
shows us that the Gnostic circles had begun to spread an account of
the Virgin’s fall as early as the second century.
The oldest account called Fragment Wright and from Cothenet48 from
the beginning of the third century, shows that this literature is
related to an older genre, namely the apocalypse of the apostles
dependent on the Jewish apocalypse. This manuscript describes the
passing of the Virgin Mary to the life beyond. Her body is taken
from the tomb and carried by angels to heaven under the tree of
life.
Pseudo-Melito includes the normal dormition of Theotokos at the end
of her life. Near the tomb of His Mother, Christ appears surrounded
by angels, addressing the Apostles gathered around the tomb and
reminding them the promise that on the day of His coming49, they
will sit on the thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. So,
they, who are His Church, must decide on the honour that is due to
His Mother. Then Peter and the other apostles say:
47 J. GALOT s. j. “Le mystère de l’Assomption”, Maria, VII, p. 163,
quoted by Egon SEN- DLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului,
p. 52.
48 Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 52. 49
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“Lord, You have chosen Your servant to be Your most pure dwelling
... We, Your servants, believe that it is appropriate that, after
you have overcome death, you reign in glory, to revive the body of
Your Mother and to take her happy with You, in heaven”50.
This tradition seems to be questioned by the testimony of Saint
Epiphanius, who spent most of his life in the neighbourhood of
Jerusalem and died in 403. He knew the various hypotheses that
circulated in his time regarding the passing of the Virgin Mary
from earth to heaven and without rejecting any, he expressed his
reserve:
“I do not say that she remains immortal, but I do not decide that
she died ... In fact, no one knows what her end was”51. He says
that the scripture kept silent the end of the Virgin Mary “the
supernatural greatness of the wonder, so as not to overwhelm the
human mind”52.
Dormition and burial could have hinted that the Theotokos would
have known the ruin of the tomb and that her body would not have
remained untouched during earthly life. For Saint Epiphanius, “the
supernatural greatness of the wonder” was the undeniable proof of
the ever-virginity of the Theotokos, on the other hand53.
The Dormition of the Virgin is the oldest feast dedicated to her.
The fi rst feast of the Theotokos, “the commemoration of the Virgin
Mary”, had a general character and was mainly linked to theotokia
of the Theotokos. In Constantinople, this feast was celebrated from
the beginning of the 5th century, on December 25 or the next day,
being associated with the Nativity of our Lord. Its purpose was
thus to worship the Mother of the Incarnate Word. Also, in
Jerusalem this feast was called “the Day of Mary Theotokos”, being
fi xed on August 15, however. The place of the feast was “the
church of Kathism”, of the “fortress of the Virgin Mary”, on the
road to Bethlehem, where, according to Jacob’s Protoevangelion,
Mary had rested54.
50 PSEUDO-MELITON AL SARADESULUI, De transitu Virginis Mariae, cap.
XVI C., in: PG V,1238.
51 EPIFANIE AL SALAMINEI, Contra hereses, 78, 11, 24, in: PG XLII,
716, 737. 52 J. GALOT, “Le mystère de l’Assomption”, Maria, VII, p.
163, quoted by Egon SENDLER,
Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 52. 53 Egon SENDLER,
Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 52. 54 Egon SENDLER,
Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 55.
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The tradition of Mary’s house in the garden of Ghetsimani was lost
after the destruction of the old altars by the Persians, and here
the role of the apocrypha intervenes. All point to the valley of
Jehoshaphat as the place of her tomb. With the reconstruction of
St. Mary church, its location was connected to the place of her
tomb, while the house of the Dormition was located on Mount Zion,
where was also the Feast of the Last Supper. In this evolution, the
apocryphals played an important role because they showed the
signifi cance of the tomb in Gethsemane and determined its
honour55.
The theme of the liturgical order during the procession to the tomb
of the Holy Mother was the Theotokos’ depart from this world. Thus,
the emphasis of the feast is on dormition, even if the central idea
is the heavenly glory of the Virgin Mary. The Byzantine world
retained the name Dormition (κομησις) until today.
As for the Holy Fathers’ homilies for the Feast of Virgin Mary’s
Dormition, we must point out that among the oldest is the metric
one, composed by Jacob of Serugh (451-521) in the Syrian language.
He describes the Virgin Mary’s tomb on the Mount of Olives in a
supernatural light that surrounds angels and people56. Jacob of
Serugh is silent about her resurrection and exaltation of her body
to heaven57.
After the Synod of Ephesus, which focused its attention on the
special worthiness of the Virgin Mary with regard to her assuming
Christ’s conception, from this moment she becomes Theotokos, that
is, the Birth- Giver of God, the Christian godliness is faced with
the following question: what happened to the Mother of God’s body
after Dormition?
The sermon uttered in 566 by Theodosius, the monophysite patriarch
of Alexandria also belongs to this category. For Theodosius, the
doctrinal term of Mary’s fi nal glory is in her virginity and in
her theotokia. Thus, Mary’s body is presented to the heavenly King
accompanied by virgins, allegorically interpreted as virtues and
good deeds. And Christ can tell the Father: “My mother came to you
clothed in her good ornaments”58. When Christ offers the soul of
His Mother to the Father and the Holy Spirit, the
55 Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 55. 56
Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 56. 57
Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 53. 58
TEODOSIE AL ALEXANDRIEI, quoted by J. GALOT, “La mystere de L
Assomtion”, in: Mar-
ia, VII, p. 178, by Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii
Domnului, p. 56.
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mystery of her motherhood is invoked as an intimate connection with
the whole Trinity: because the divine nature of Christ became fl
esh in His Mother, she bore the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit.
“Good Father, receive the soul of my most beloved Mother, the one
in the world who has received Your Only-begotten Son. Receive the
holy temple, which was the dwelling place of Your Holy Spirit, the
unity of Your divinity. Receive, my good Father, the burning bush
that has received the fi re of your divinity in itself and has not
been consumed”59.
And as Jesus resurrects His Mother, she appears as the dwelling
place of His Son in both soul and body. “Get up from your bed, holy
body, which you have been my temple, take this soul that has been
for me daily ark”60. But Mary receives this glory not only for
herself, but also for the salvation of the universe. This glory is
justifi ed by her intercession for all of us. Theodosius ends his
word in this way: “You will fi nd her constantly going to her
Emperor and Son”61. Thus, for Theodosius, divine motherhood is not
the ultimate reason for the Virgin Mary’s moving to heaven, but it
is fulfi lled by sharing the salvation of the whole world through
her.
Another homily at the Feast of Dormition is that of Teotecnus,
Bishop of Libya in Palestine. Since this episcopacy disappeared
during the Arab invasion around 650, we can place Teotecnus between
550 and 650.
Teoctecnus begins his homily by evoking the joy that Lord’s
Resurrection bring in the souls of Christians. The miracle takes
place “after the resurrection from the dead and the Ascension into
heaven and the stay at the right side”. Therefore, to a certain
extent and taking into account her condition as a creature, there
is an analogy between the life of the Virgin Mary and the mysteries
of Christ’s life. The glorifi cation of the
59 TEODOSIE AL ALEXANDRIEI, quoted by J. GALOT, “La mystere de L
Assomtion”, in: Mar- ia, VII, p. 179; Panégyrique pour
l’Assomption, 6, Éd. Wenger, p. 274, by Egon SEN- DLER, Icoanele
bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 57.
60 TEODOSIE AL ALEXANDRIEI, quoted by J. GALOT, “La mystere de L
Assomtion”, in: Mar- ia, VII, p. 179; Panégyrique pour
l’Assomption, 6, Éd. Wenger, p. 321, by Egon SEN- DLER, Icoanele
bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 57.
61 TEODOSIE AL ALEXANDRIEI, quoted by J. GALOT, “La mystere de L
Assomtion”, in: Mar- ia, VII, p. 179; Panégyrique pour
l’Assomption, 6, Éd. Wenger, p. 314, by Egon SEN- DLER, Icoanele
bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 57.
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121STUDIES AND ARTICLES
Virgin Mary is thus modelled after that of her Son. This
perspective shows that the signifi cance of the Resurrection and
the Ascension of Christ must be found in an analogous way in the
ascension of the Virgin Mary with her body to heaven. The glorifi
cation of Christ therefore remains at the centre of salvation and
is prolonged in that of His Mother.
Teoctecnus’ arguments are based on the principle of Virgin Mary’s
theotokia. He postulated a glorifi cation not only spiritual but
also material:
“It was fi tting that her most holy body, the body that bore God,
the body that received God, the deifi ed, and incorruptible body,
illuminated by divine light and full of glory, should be worn by
the apostles, accompanied by angels, entrusted to a little while to
the earth and raised to heaven in glory together with the soul
pleasing to God”62.
Teotecnus emphasizes that Divine motherhood places the Mother of
God above all creatures, above all the apostles and the people of
the Old Testament, because of her perfect purity and holiness.
“She, the most holy and the most beautiful, the most blessed,
worthy of all joy; mother and virgin, most pure and
spotless”63.
Regarding the virginity of the Theotokos, Teotecnus shows that the
Lord “took body from a virgin; Mary’s breast bore her fruit and her
virginity did not get old”64. Her body “remaining virgin” could not
be subjected to damage in the grave. And fi nally, the sublime
reason of Mary’s virgin holiness is based on the union of her being
with the persons of the Trinity65. In this union she received the
fullness of the divine goodwill, which binds her forever to her
divine motherhood.
Mary’s holiness, the privilege of being the “Mother of God” and the
resemblance between her ascension with her body to heaven and the
glorifi cation of Christ cannot be regarded as merely miracles
performed by God for the benefi t of His Son’s Mother. The virgin
participates in
62 TEOTECN, “Panégyrique” 9, Maria, p. 276, quoted by Egon SENDLER,
Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 57.
63 TEOTECN, “Panégyrique” 9, Maria, p. 5, p. 274, quoted by Egon
SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 58.
64 TEOTECN, “Panégyrique” 9, Maria, p. 32, p. 288, quoted by Egon
SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 58.
65 Union not existential, but participatory though the grace of Her
Son.
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the movement of divine love for the salvation of men. She is one of
its manifestations. Thus, by moving to heaven with the body, Mary
becomes the instrument of this love: “The Mother of the Lord has
gone to heaven as a mediator of all. And because God listens to
her, she brings us spiritual gifts”66.
This intercession of the Virgin does not consist only of
interventions in favour of the people, but she plays an essential
role, as mediator of all graces: we receive the life of grace
through her, fi rst assured by the illumination of faith, then by
love for God and neighbour, and supported mainly by the Sacrament
of the Eucharist.
As can easily be observed, the authors of the homilies express a
simple, perhaps elementary, but solid and complete theology, in
which they expose the substance of the faith in Theotokos’
ascension to heaven with her body and highlight the dimensions of
the mystery.
Starting with the eighth century, we can fi nd the most numerous
testimonies in the Byzantine Church, released by the apocryphal
stories, and the richest theological refl ections. The great
preachers and theologians of this era developed the ideas of the
preceding centuries and left a large number of homilies on the
Dormition of the Virgin Mary. There are famous people like: St.
Germanos of Constantinople (†740), St. John of Damascus (†749), St.
Theodor the Studite (†826), George of Nicomidia († after
880).
The hymnographic creations of the great Byzantine composers are
added to these homilies: Cosmas the Melodist († after 743), author
of a Dormition canon, and St. John Graptus (†845), author of the
Vigil hymns.
According to historian Nikephoros Kallistos (†around 1328), the
Byzantine emperor Mauricius (582-602) set the feast day of
Dormition on August 15 following the tradition in Jerusalem. In
fact, Emperor Mauricius rebuilt the Church of Our Lady in
Gethsemane.
In Syria the feast certainly existed in the fi fth century67. Its
place of origin is probably Jerusalem, because in the old Georgian
Synaxaria, the day of August 15th was the annual anniversary of the
consecration of Virgin Mary Church built in the 5th century by
Ikelia Romana, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, near the place
where Rachel’s tomb was and
66 TEOTECN, “Panégyrique” 9, Maria, pp. 31-32, p. 288, quoted by
Egon SENDLER, Icoanele bizantine ale Maicii Domnului, p. 58.
67 See FUNK-BIHLMEYER, Lehrguch der Kirchengeschichte, VI, Aufl .,
Paderborn, 1911, p. 238, quoted by Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene BRANITE,
Liturgica General, p. 188.
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123STUDIES AND ARTICLES
where, according to tradition, the Blessed Virgin stopped, shortly
before the Saviour’s Birth68.
In the eighth century, Saint Cosmas the Melodist and Saint John of
Damascus composed the two canons that are sung at the Matins of the
Feast, both mirroring the spirit of the respective era.
In the West the feast is mentioned for the fi rst time as early as
the sixth century, at Saint Gregory, the Bishop of Tours, († 593 or
594)69, although the Dormition was celebrated there on January
18th, and elsewhere on January 15th70. In the beginning, in the
West, the feast bears the name “Dormition”, but, a century later,
during Pope Sergius I, (687-702), which was of Syrian origin, the
name is changed to Asomptiune (translation to heaven of Theotokos’
body). The change happened, of course, because the West considered
the translation of the Virgin Mary body to heaven, preceded by the
resurrection, as the main object of the new feast, the death
passing in the secondary plane.
In the Galican Church, on the contrary, the term “Dormition” was
kept, because neither in the Holy Scripture nor in the Holy
Tradition was there any basis, the only affi rmations in this sense
being found in the apocryphal writings.
In the 9th century two writings circulated, one attributed to the
Blessed Jerome, the other to the Blessed Augustine. These were the
two currents circulating in the West at that time, they were
considered authentic until the modern era. Jerome, without denying
the resurrection of the Virgin Mary’s body, questions it and
presents it as a simple pious faith. Augustine, on the contrary,
cannot accept that Mary’s virgin body had known the ruin of the
tomb.
In the tenth century, the holiday acquires more and more splendour
in the West.
Towards the fi fteenth century, the feast of Assumptio is
celebrated with splendour and plays an important role in the
Western popular godliness.
68 Dr. A. BAUMSTARK, Liturgie comparée, III-e éd., verue par B.
Botte O.S.B., Cheven- togne, 1953, pp. 209-210.
69 Sfântul GRIGORIE, episcopul de Tours, In gloria Martyrum,
Miracula, I, 4 and 9 in: PL. XXXI, 708-713.
70 For example, Misalul (Liturghierul) of Bobbio and Missale
Gallicanum indicates January 13. See L. USPENSKIJ, “Adormirea Prea
Sfi ntei Nsctoare de Dumnezeu” (în limba rus), in: Jurnal
Moskovskoi Patriarhii, 1974, nr. 8, p. 77-78, quoted by Pr. Prof.
Dr. Ene BRANITE, Liturgica General, p. 189.
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The feast was generalized a little later by Pope Theodore I
(642-649), who was of Jerusalem origin71 and which imposed the date
of August 15, as in the East.
Only Christians in Gaul and Egyptian Copts celebrate Dormition on
the old date (January 18)72.
III. Conclusions
1. In the 4th century there was already a cult of the Mother of God
in the Church, a fact proved by the laudatory speeches and homilies
addressed to the Mother of God, uttered by the great Fathers of
this century.
2. The cult of the Mother of God, existing since the beginning of
the Christian life in the Church, experienced an explosive
development in the fi rst half of the 5th century, due to the
dyoprosopism of Nestorius. The Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus
in 431 condemned the heresy of Nestorius, formulating the Orthodox
teaching about the Mother of God, by emphasizing the two major
qualities of the Mother of God, according to which she deserves
honour or super-veneration. These two qualities of the Theotokos
are her θεοτοκια , that is, the fact she gave birth to God in fl
esh and her αιπαρτενια , that is, her ever-virginity or holiness.
In the fi fth century, after the Synod of Ephesus, both the
teaching of the Synods and popular and patristic literature played
a providential role, namely, that of completing the celebration of
Christ’s divinity with that of His humanity. Thus, the liturgical
year becomes unfolding of all aspects of the Incarnation, as a
whole.
3. As in the case of the other saints, the veneration of the Mother
of God in the worship of the Church was manifested, from the
beginning, through several forms or ways of expression. Among them,
the fi rst one of importance is the establishment of certain feasts
or days during the Church
71 Dr. A. BAUMSTARK, Liturgie Comparee, p. 210. Details at F.
CABROL, “Fête de l’Assomtion”, in: Dictionaire d’Arheologie
Catolique et de la Liturgie”, t. I, col. 2996- 3001; B. CAPELLE,
“Fête de l’Assomption dans l’istoire liturgique”, in: Ephemerides
Teologicae Lovanienses, III (1926), pp 33-45; A. RAÈS, “Aux
origines de la fête de l’Assomption”, in: Orientalia Christiana
Periodica, (Roma), XII (1946), pp. 262-274.
72 See also A. RAÈS, Aux origines de la fête de l’Assomption en
Orient, OCP, XII (1946), pp. 262-274; B. CAPELLE, “La fête de la
Vierge á Jérusalem au V-e siècle”, in: Muséon, LVI (1943), pp.
1-33.
Lucian FARCAIU
TEOLOGIA 3 / 2020
125STUDIES AND ARTICLES
year, dedicated to her special remembrance and honour. These feasts
of the Theotokos are considered among the Royal Feasts.
4. The Blessed Virgin is especially celebrated several times during
the Church year, with feasts that honour not only her Dormition,
but also some other important moments in her life, such as her
Nativity, her Presentation to the Temple or the Annunciation
received from the archangel Gabriel.
5. One of these Feasts, the Annunciation, although considered
between the feasts of the Mother of God, actually refers to the
person of the Saviour Christ, being the celebration of the day of
His incarnation or conception with a human body for our salvation.
This fact shows that her honour is closely connected with that of
her Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, the oldest feasts of the Mother of
God appear at fi rst as feasts of the Saviour.
7. The cult of the Mother of God is long before the Church
establishes feasts dedicated to her special honour.
8. Among the Feasts of the Mother of God, only the Annunciation is
based on a historical event recorded in Holy Scripture (Luke 1:
26-38). The others are based on facts from the life of the Blessed
Virgin that the canonical gospels do not write anything about,
being preserved by tradition, some of them recorded only in the
non-canonical or apocryphal gospels. The homilies of the Holy
Fathers of the Church, both in the East and in the West, also
demonstrate the generalization of the Theotokos cult in the Church,
being an expression of the honour that Christians have given to the
Holy Mother over time.
9. In the West, where the Theotokos cult will take on even greater
development than in the East, none of these four feasts is known
before the seventh century, when Christians in this part of
Christendom adopted all the rules of Byzantium Church.